Fruit Tree Spray: Natural Organic or Homemade
An organic or natural or even a homemade fruit tree spray is every bit as capable of getting rid of the overwintering insects and insects eggs lodged in the bark of your trees before they hatch and begin multiplying.
Any of the following natural & organic fruit tree sprays will do the job: A Dormant Spray mixture, the horticultural oil and water mixture only, or a natural homemade spray mixture.
1. Organic Fruit Tree Spray: Dormant Spray Combination (“Combo”)
The Dormant Spray Mixture is a very well-known organic fruit tree spray. Its downside is that it must be used only in early spring while the tree is still dormant and before the buds break.
This organic fruit tree spray, the Dormant Spray, is usually comprised of two ingredients that must be mixed according to specific instructions.
The first ingredient, the horticultural Oil, is used to smother all overwintering insects and/or their eggs (one of the reasons why the spraying must be done in early spring before the insect eggs hatch).
The second ingredient, lime sulfur, is a natural fungicide that kills dormant fungus spores or bacteria on the plant. This organic fruit tree spray can be used as a combination of the two ingredients (Horticultural oil and lime sulfur), or you may choose to use the horticultural oil only.
2. Another Organic Fruit Tree Spray: Horticultural Oil/ Water Only
If you have no fungus or bacteria problem, you may want to spray with the agricultural Oil and water mixture only. Different amounts of agricultural oil can be bought at your local gardening center.
I did use this Dormant Spray Combo on my peach, pear, apple, plum, and cherry trees for a few years, but since I was working every day, I found it difficult being able to do the spraying when the weather was just right.
Therefore, I then switched to spraying with only the horticultural oil/water mixture especially since horticultural oil can be used all summer as long as it is not sprayed when it’s really hot outside.
3. Homemade Fruit Tree Spray
However, one day I came across this homemade fruit tree spray recipe which I could make with ingredients found in the kitchen or at a gardening center. Not only could I use this natural homemade fruit tree spray early in the spring but also throughout the summer whenever I felt it was needed. I had to test it on new foliage, but generally speaking, the fruit trees just loved this fruit tree spray which was made up of natural ingredients, easy to make, and easy to spray.
I got to the point where I kept this spray on hand and used it on all my plants except evergreens. For example; I used it on all my fruit trees, ornamental trees if needed, and all my roses (everblooming, tea roses, miniature roses) — wherever I felt insects were present and I wanted to get rid of them.
I felt this spray was better for the environment and I did not have to worry about residual poison on my fruit or killing the bees. I could spray fruit trees even in the daytime, although I would not recommend spraying when the temperature is above 80 degrees F.(30 Celsius)
If you are interested in finding out more about this natural homemade fruit tree spray, you will find the recipe and detailed explanations at my other blog, Gardensnursery.com, and look for the article “ Homemade Fruit Tree Spray”.
So rather than using synthetic insecticides/pesticides which can be detrimental to you and the environment, you may want to consider using one of the environmentally safe Natural or Organic or Homemade fruit tree spray.
